Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1520787
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 4 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M along with true freshmen Vaboue Toure and Dejuan Lane. But Mack had already proven he was capable of contributing at the Big Ten level, having seen action in 12 games last fall. He was also likely the top hitter in that group, despite standing 5-foot-10, 187 pounds. Impact Factor: Medium-High Wide Receiver McClain, a senior, became the third wide receiver to leave the program this spring, joining Lambert-Smith and Meiga. He had transferred to Penn State from Florida State in January 2023, ar- riving in State College as a player with modest stats but a high upside. A four-star prospect at IMG Academy in Florida, McClain possessed all the requisite skills to be a high-impact wide receiver. At 6-4, 207 pounds, he moved better than you would expect and ran decent routes for a tall player. However, as was the case with the Seminoles, McClain could never put it all together and produce despite Penn State's wide-open receivers room. He finished the 2023 season with 6 catches for 71 yards. Based on BWI's unofficial depth chart coming out of spring practice, it ap- peared that McClain was fighting for snaps behind junior Omari Evans. In other words, while he probably wasn't viewed as a starter, he was in the team's plans for that position. Losing him means that Penn State has one fewer veteran — and one fewer lottery ticket as it looks to hit the jackpot with a group of largely unproven wideouts. Impact Factor: Medium-Low Running Back A three-star prospect from Scran- ton (Pa.) Prep, Montgomery was still recovering from a series of high school injuries when he got to Penn State last year, including an ACL tear that forced him to miss his senior season. During his lone year at Penn State, the 5-10, 185-pound running back didn't make the physical progress that the coaching staff had hoped to see. "Every time he gets on the football field, he really does some good things for us, but he has not changed his body a whole lot," Franklin said this spring. "That's going to make it challenging for him. In terms of football, he's pretty good. He's done some really good things for us at practice. He's just got to under- stand there are some things he's going to have to do off the field to allow that to translate on the field." Adding weight was always going to be a crucial part of Montgomery's de- velopment. When that didn't happen, it consigned him to the bottom of the depth chart this spring. Making matters even more challeng- ing, the PSU backfield is only going to get deeper in the years ahead. There were two other scholarship running backs with freshman eligibility in spring prac- tice (Quinton Martin Jr., Cam Wallace), one more set to arrive this summer (Corey Smith) and three verbally committed in the 2025 class (Kiandrea Barker, Tiqwai Hayes, Alvin Henderson). It's not hard to picture those impending arrivals influ- encing Montgomery's decision. The Lions lost another running back when Kency bowed out. At 5-7, 173 pounds, the walk-on from Harvey, La., is undersized, too, but he's an explosively fast player. He had 1 carry for 8 yards in the spring game. Kency's most likely path to the field was going to be on special teams as a kickoff returner. However, the redshirt fresh- man would probably have had to beat out last year's returners, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, or perhaps Martin if the Lions want their junior running back tandem to focus on offense this year. Ei- ther way, the path to playing time was going to be uphill. Impact Factor: Low Offensive Line Israel-Achumba, a redshirt senior guard, was a strong presence in Penn State's locker room, but injuries hindered his progress after he arrived from De- Matha Catholic in Maryland as a three- star prospect in the 2020 class. Israel-Achumba played in 16 games during his four seasons at PSU. Twelve of those appearances came last year on special teams. Impact Factor: Low ■ Receiver Malik McClain caught just 6 passes for 71 yards in what would turn out to be his only season with the Nittany Lions. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Receiver Carmelo Taylor Leaves Nittany Lions Redshirt freshman Carmelo Taylor has left Penn State after one season in the Nittany Lion pro- gram. The reason for his exit was not disclosed, and Taylor had not appeared in the transfer portal at the conclusion of the spring window. A Roanoke, Va., native, Taylor signed with head coach James Franklin's program in the class of 2023. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 43 wide receiver in the On3 Industry Ranking coming out of Patrick Henry High. Listed at 5-foot-11, 161 pounds on Penn State's roster, Taylor knew he would need to bulk up dur- ing his redshirt year. An allergy to red meat made that process difficult, he told BWI in February. "I've gained a few pounds here and there, but it's hard for me," Taylor said. "I'm starting to eat more, I'm trying to maintain straight A's and B's in the classroom, spend more time in the weight room, and taking small steps like that to continue to get better. As I take those baby steps, they eventually turn into bigger steps and more days go into the cycle." Taylor finished spring practice with the Nittany Lions but won't be around for preseason camp. It was not immediately clear where he might look to attend school next. — Sean Fitz